Michael Collins: Demands urgent change to rural planning rules
Michael Collins spoke in the Dáil about rural planning and housing targets, urging immediate legislative change to rural planning guidelines to allow local people fair access to planning. He warned a newspaper had reported the government could be 13,000 homes behind targets by 2027 and cited West Cork cases of young people spending thousands and being blocked from getting planning.
He referenced a leading newspaper article stating the government will be 13,000 homes behind in targets by 2027. He framed housing as a crisis that must be resolved immediately while linking it to problems in rural planning delivery.
He described constituents in West Cork, saying up to 10 people a week come to him having spent in some cases thousands of euros on applications. He recalled a young woman who spent 10,000 on a West Cork island on the family farm to secure planning but was refused.
He said he was not pointing the finger at planners themselves but at those who wrote negative rural planning guidelines that are almost impossible to get through. He argued the guidelines need review to help people on farms and children of farming communities sustain local populations.
He welcomed recent proposals for timber cabins and said, in response, "We will now bring forward legislation to change rural planning guidelines immediately so to allow people from their own area to get planning in a fair and reasonable way." He signalled an intention to bring forward legislation to amend the guidelines.
He warned that easing rules has trade-offs, pointing to storm Eonew when many people in remote areas created challenges for services. He noted implications for communications systems and the electricity grid and said an unrestricted approach would quickly create significant challenges.
Housing targets and national shortfall
He referenced a leading newspaper article stating the government will be 13,000 homes behind in targets by 2027. He framed housing as a crisis that must be resolved immediately while linking it to problems in rural planning delivery.
West Cork cases and personal costs
He described constituents in West Cork, saying up to 10 people a week come to him having spent in some cases thousands of euros on applications. He recalled a young woman who spent 10,000 on a West Cork island on the family farm to secure planning but was refused.
Responsibility for guidelines, not planners
He said he was not pointing the finger at planners themselves but at those who wrote negative rural planning guidelines that are almost impossible to get through. He argued the guidelines need review to help people on farms and children of farming communities sustain local populations.
Legislative response and timber cabins
He welcomed recent proposals for timber cabins and said, in response, "We will now bring forward legislation to change rural planning guidelines immediately so to allow people from their own area to get planning in a fair and reasonable way." He signalled an intention to bring forward legislation to amend the guidelines.
Infrastructure limits and caution over a free-for-all
He warned that easing rules has trade-offs, pointing to storm Eonew when many people in remote areas created challenges for services. He noted implications for communications systems and the electricity grid and said an unrestricted approach would quickly create significant challenges.
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Transcript
Almost every day here in the Dáil we talk about housing targets. Today in one leading newspaper article it stated that this government will be 13,000 homes behind in targets by 2027. You set yourselves last November. This is one crisis that has to be resolved immediately but another Taoiseach is rural one-stop planning which is almost grinding to a halt. I have up to 10 people come to me weekly in West Cork spending in some cases thousands of euros. Young people trying to get a start out in life but every obstacle is put in front of them to block them from getting planning. It is not long ago I mentioned a young lady here in the Dáil who spent 10,000 on a West Cork island on the family farm to get planning but to be turned down. I am not pointing the finger at planners but I am pointing the finger at those who wrote the negative rural planning guidelines that are almost impossible to get through. Only a couple of weeks ago you put forward proposals for timber cabins which I welcome. We will now bring forward legislation to change rural planning guidelines immediately so to allow people from their own area to get planning in a fair and reasonable way. You have raised a fair point although there are some planning commissions to get through in West Cork as you acknowledge but I think the guidelines do need some review particularly people on farms and the children of farming communities to maintain a sustainable community in certain areas. Particularly with improvements in technology and so on in waste water. But again on the other side of the coin if you have too much we had what happened in storm Eonew with lots of people in very remote areas with services and so it does create challenges as well for our communications system, for our electricity grid, so we cannot ignore the implications of our sort of, I know you are not suggesting it but if you had a free for all you would have fairly significant challenges emerging fairly quickly after that.